Anyway to undo a GI issue? Hot and too much Gatorade. I can’t eat without throwing up…

It’s not the text message I was expecting to get from Rusty, he’s normally rock solid in his races. He’s raced in the heat and trained extensively in his home state of Georgia. He knows how to push himself, he knows how to handle heat, humidity, and tough courses. Black Canyon 100K throws a lot at people, more than many expect in February. For most athletes, Black Canyon comes at the front edge of their season; early stage fitness and finding the edges of their winter fitness. Unless you’ve been training in the heat - this year races was the hammer and over 200 people were the nail. Over 200 DNF’s speaks a lot to the weather, and the impact of a warm early season race for athletes training in 30-40 degree (or much colder) temps.

Take your time when you’re in distress

When Rusty shot me a text, I remember our talks and check-in calls. We have always talked about how patience comes at you many different ways when racing an ultra. It’s not just due to the length of the race. Patience shows up when we hit road blocks. Sever discomfort and soreness? Pain comes in waves - be patient, it will subside. Stomach won’t let you keep anything down? Be patient, cool down, walk. The difference between a DNF and a bad “moment” is razor thin at times.

For many athletes the looming time clock is the overwhelming master - if they are behind goal pace, or just not feeling how they expected to be feeling at 8 hours into the race - the mental game begins to crumble. However, the best athletes can be “in the moment” and handle what’s happening right then and there. I give Rusty a lot of credit for texting me and seeking advice. The best thing he could do was sit down, cool down, and try to recover.

Rusty was probably overheated and under trained for the heat as were 200 other athletes in this race. For some of them - they allowed a ‘moment’ to escalate and become the ‘final’ moment of the day. I’m not diminishing anyones accomplishment or reason for pulling from a race. It should just be said that many people would rather pull out of a race the moment the plan shifts ever so slightly.

Moments

I’ve talked about personal growth a lot on our podcast and we talk about running into walls. Some walls you have to learn to climb over, in workouts we occasionally peak over the wall to see new fitness. What changes the game is when we grow personally and grow tall enough that the walls we once encountered are dominos compared to the new walls we face. It’s how we manage ourselves in the moment that can define our progress and whether we move forward or stay right where we are. Sometimes that means extending a moment and dealing with the problem head on, or even reaching out for help. The most useful advice is the one you take and trust in. Rusty took my advice and what I recommended didn’t take initially - his stomach wasn’t going to hold anything down until he cooled down and his body normalized. There was nothing he could do but WAIT. This is where his patience and perseverance paid off; he cooled down, normalized, and stayed positive

Problem Solving Mode

As a coach, my biggest goal is to give athletes tools, different perspectives, and provide an environments where we learn with every outing - positive outcome or negative. On this particular day, I had an athlete set a lifetime 1/2 marathon PR, 2 athletes racing Black Canyon who experienced similar struggles, a marathon DNF, and watched former athletes set collegiate Top 5 performances. Each race taught the athlete something and each race was a necessary part of each athletes journey.

My goal is to teach athletes how to problem solve, self rescue, and be an unstoppable force of 1. For Rusty, this was the first time he experienced major GI issues in a race. He’s raced in hot and humid conditions before but has never emptied his stomach like this - it’s part of the journey. For Rusty to go longer or run to his potential, he needed to experience this moment. This means next time he starts to feel overheated, or feels a rumble in his stomach he can solve his problems before they start.

Problem solving mode means that you have to turn inward and try to solve your problem when you first notice the signs. You must realize that you are in control and things are not just happening to you. When you can take a view that removes you from the picture you can see the upset stomach, the signs of overheating, and the distress signals your body is sending you. If you can only see abject failure - you have more growing to do! You will continue to get stuck in the same rut. Asking yourself better questions and trying to be present to what you’re feeling; it creates momentum. Enough momentum gets you out of the rut…

The Finish Line

I have hundred of these stories as a coach. The struggle and turmoil, turning inward, learning thyself, progressing, and accomplishing. I detailed this one because it speaks so much to Rusty’s character. Ever finish line photo he sends me has a smile. Every phone call we have is about improving, growing, and finding a new challenge. Rusty embodies an athlete I believe that everyone should strive to be more like. Not because he runs ultras or even that he runs at all. It’s about his outlook when things start sliding sideways - he knows that sometimes you can’t try to grasp onto anything. You simply have to take the ride and be a part of the action, be in the moment and let the dust settle once you hit the bottom, the top, or have to hang out in the uncomfortable middle.

Lessons Learned:

1. Long races demand patience. Moments can last a very long time!

2. Be willing to ask for help. You may not have all the answers

3. Trust your training and your team. Let your work carry you to the finish line

4. Be willing to hit pause, assess, and recalculate. Challenges come in waves, ride it. See Point #1